S. Korea to stop operation of COVID-19 screening centers

SEOUL -- South Korea will stop the operation of COVID-19 screening centers, about four years after the country was hit by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. South Korea operated some 500 screening centers across the country since February 2020 to establish a frontline against the infectious disease that infected more than 34 million people and killed more than 35,000 people. The centers offered free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for anyone who showed s

December 15, 2023

SM BEXEL starts mass production of micro lithium ampoule military batteries

SEOUL -- SM BEXEL, the battery-making wing of South Korea's No. 2 bulk carrier operator SM Group, has started the mass production of micro lithium ampoule military batteries. The South Korean battery maker well known for its long-lasting AA and AAA batteries as well as lithium-ion cells injected some seven billion won ($5.4 million) in March 2023 to establish a military battery-making facility with an annual capacity of 2.5 million cells. The battery maker said that the mass

December 15, 2023

Samsung Electronics to release AI laptop 'Galaxy Book4 series' in January 2024

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics will release an artificial intelligence-based laptop "Galaxy Book4" in January 2024. The new laptop series, equipped with U.S. technology giant Intel's neural processing unit processor, can autonomously process various computational tasks without depending on cloud services. Without network or communication, AI laptops can handle computation using AI chips, which incorporate AI deep learning compilers to create the best working code for max

December 15, 2023

KAVKAS appoints Jeonbuk University Professor Ryu Kown-ha as new president

SEOUL -- Koreanischer Altstipendiaten Verein der Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAVKAS), an organization of South Korean scholars who obtained their doctoral degrees with scholarships from Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation, has appointed a new president. Through a general meeting, KAVKAS said on December 15 that Professor Ryu Kwon-ha was appointed as the scholar association's new president. The 62-year-old professor from Jeonbuk University's Department of Media Communicati

December 15, 2023

Committee launched to list Korean rice wine Makgeolli as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

SEOUL -- A special committee of 30 specialists from various fields was launched to list Makgeolli, a Korean rice wine, as UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) 's Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2013, Kimjang, the collective process of making and sharing kimchi in South Korea, was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Makgeolli, also known as Korean rice wine or rice beer, is a milky-white alcoholic beverage that was c

December 15, 2023

S. Korean military to revise enlistment criteria for conscription of excessively obese men

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense forces would draft severely obese men to follow suit with the revised eligibility criteria for mandatory military service. Based on the proposed criteria, a 174-centimeter-(5'8.5")-tall overweight man weighing 120 kilograms (265 pounds) can also be conscripted. Unless they have valid reasons for exemption, males aged 18 or older must complete their military service in South Korea, which is still technically at war with North Korea. Those

December 15, 2023

NewJeans to perform on US broadcaster ABC's special New Year's Eve show

SEOUL -- Girl band NewJeans will become the first K-pop girl band to interact with American fans through a popular New Year's Eve show hosted by the United States broadcaster ABC. The program titled "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" broadcasts the countdown event at Times Square in New York and showcases promising artists of the year. The group's agency said on December 14 NewJeans will appear on New Year's Rockin' Eve. Th

December 14, 2023

Indian Embassy holds special event to celebrate 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with S. Korea

SEOUL -- The Indian Embassy in Seoul has held a special event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with South Korea. At the Indian cultural center in Seoul's central district of Yongsan, India's ambassador has reached an agreement with South Korea's deputy minister for political affairs to upgrade strategic cooperation in various sectors. Government data showed that South Korea's exports to India reached $18.8 billion in 2022, up 21 from a year a

December 14, 2023

S. Korea's artificial sun project kicks into new test phase through upgraded parts

SEOUL -- South Korea's artificial sun project called "Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR)" has kicked into a new test phase through upgraded parts. KSTAR is a magnetic fusion device run by South Korean researchers to study aspects of magnetic fusion energy. KSTAR is an experimental tokamak device designed to harness the energy of nuclear fusion. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and other stars, where two light atomic nuclei combine to form

December 14, 2023

POSCO's digital transformation wing to develop robots for steel production

SEOUL -- POSCO DX, the digital transformation wing of South Korea's steel group POSCO has partnered with Chosun Refractories, a domestic refractory product maker, to create robots for steel production. The robots will be used for dangerous tasks such as handling high-temperature molten iron generated in a blast furnace. POSCO DX said on December 13 that it partnered with Chosun Refractories to develop new robots. The robots will be deployed to steel mills to assist the casting p

December 14, 2023